Donald Trump addressed the nation during a rally marking his 100th day in office on April 29, 2025, at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan. The former president used the platform to blame his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the recent contraction in the U.S. economy and defend his controversial tariff policies. Read More → Trump’s comments were made shortly after new figures showed that the economy contracted in his first full quarter in office.
Even now, Trump is using Truth Social to complain that these conditions stink. He’s right to say that he inherited a bad hand from Biden. He stated, “This is Joe Biden’s Stock Market, not Trump’s. I didn’t take over until January 20th.” He continues to scapegoat the former administration for our economic woes. All the while, though, he’s keeping an eye on the other ball — winning support for his own ambitious economic agenda.
According to the most recent Quarterly Advance report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, that’s a 0.3% contraction on an annualized basis of our gross domestic product (GDP). This drop happened in the first three months of Trump’s presidency. This development had been weighing heavily on the administration, as it tries to wrestle its economic agenda into implementation. During a meeting with more than two dozen business leaders at the White House, Trump acknowledged the challenges faced by his administration but remained optimistic about the future.
Trump used those tariffs to defend his widely panned actions that many analysts say have put enormous economic headwinds on American businesses. He insisted that these measures would eventually yield positive results, stating, “Tariffs will soon start kicking in, and companies are starting to move into the USA in record numbers. Our Country will boom, but we have to get rid of the Biden ‘Overhang.’”
Concerningly for his confidence, Trump’s remarks betray an understanding that recovery will not happen any time soon. He cautioned that the economic promised boom would not come overnight. He doubled down on the claim that the deepening crisis was a result of his predecessor’s policies. “This will take a while, has NOTHING TO DO WITH TARIFFS, only that he left us with bad numbers,” he stated. “When the boom begins, it will be like no other. BE PATIENT!!!”
That rally followed a much weaker than expected ADP report on private payrolls. In April, payrolls increased by just 62,000 jobs, missing the Dow Jones consensus estimate by a very wide margin. It was a puzzling development that added more concern over labor market strength during the early years of Trump’s presidency.
Trump’s latest comments were clearly aimed at restoring confidence to the U.S. economy and luring back foreign direct investment. He pointed to meaningful U.S. investments from international firms such as Nvidia, Johnson & Johnson, Hyundai and Toyota. These investments are being offered as compelling proof of a pending economic turnaround.
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